Disclaimer: I think we all know this. Anything you recognize as Tamora
Pierce's is, chances are, not mine. Unless you believe that I'm her
alternate personality, and if you do, you're more than welcome to continue
thinking that way. The stuff you don't recognize is mine. Like Audrelinia,
Surri, the dark passageway, a couple of the thieves and the plot.
Author's Notes: This is just my luck: I get nine reviews on the first day and none after that. I want ten, people, ten! Ten reviews means that people bother to read my fic, ten means that you actually like it (unless, of course, you don't). I'm begging you all, vote on which fic I should write next, tell me you think my fic is cruddy, or great, or whatever, just review! I live on reviews and popcorn, if you deprive me, I'll starve! Anyways, for those of you who did review and vote for my next fic (reviewer, Anastazi Silverwind, Rasphody07, and Keita), I decided that my own mind is too morbid for my own good, and took off the Roger and Alex fic. It was temporary insanity, please forgive me. Anyways, vote, vote, vote! ~ ~ ~ ~
Audrie left her room to go to the healer's only after twenty minutes of harassment from Sarri to do so. Sarri had even offered to help her walk there, but Audrie would die before she accepted help in a task so benign as walking down the hall. By the time she _had_ walked down the hall, however, she may have been willing to accept the help. The pain in her ankle seemed to spread to her entire leg, making it feel as though flames licked at one side of her body.
At last she managed to enter the healer's room, where she saw a small old man sitting behind a desk, nose buried in a thick volume, with several beds with crisp, white blankets next to him. Audrie stood stock still, not knowing how to explain why she was there. 'I fell off a roof,' was most certainly self-explanatory, but she knew he would ask how she had gotten onto the roof, and why.
As thoughts and excuses rushed through her mind, the old man had noticed her and risen from his chair to greet her. " Good afternoon, my lady. What brings you here?" his bright eyes behind thick eyeglasses had caught hers, and after a moment's hesitance she decided to go with half- truths and avoidances.
"A sprained ankle." No need to explain more than that, she thought. Besides, isn't that what he asked?
For some reason the instant she said her reason the old man snorted. "Women." he grunted, "Can't endure pain for a second, can you? Pathetic." Audrie was tempted to walk up to him and smack him, and only logic that if she did that he wouldn't heal her kept her back.
"No matter," he pointed to one of the beds, " Sit there while I heal, and no resisting."
She plopped down on the bed he had indicated to, lifting her skirts to above the ankle so that he could heal it. Kneeling on the ground, the old man placed two hands on her ankle, and soft magenta light emanating from his fingertips. After a moment the light faded suddenly, and then man looked up to her, brows furrowed. "This is more than a sprained ankle. The bone in your ankle is cracked. You're lucky it didn't break entirely. You didn't just trip while walking to get this injury. What happened?"
A moments hesitation held as though it were a lifetime, before Audrie finally replied, "I tripped while practicing dancing." It's not that much of a lie, she thought. After all, I did trip. Just not while dancing.
The reply from the old man was a look that clearly said he didn't believe her whatsoever. "Mm-hmm," He nodded before going back to work on healing her ankle. "and here I thought that the convent was to teach women not to nearly kill themselves dancing. Silly me."
Audrie glared at him."It wasn't my fault, there was water on the floor. I tripped." The pain faded with the light from the old man's hands, and it soon felt as though the injury was only a distant memory. She stood up abruptly, and began to briskly walk out of the room as the man rose to a standing.
" Funny thing I saw earlier," he commented, just as Audrie was about to leave, causing her to freeze in her footsteps. "Could've sworn I'd seen a person jump off of the fourth floor roof."
"O-oh really?" she stuttered, "And w-why are you mentioning this to me?"
"Oh, I don't know." he shrugged his shoulders. "Not too safe to go jumping of roofs, is it? Could get hurt. Now go on, and be more careful dancing around wet floors. I can't go healing you every instant of the day."
She took this as a dismissal, practically running out the door. She hadn't gone too far when she slammed into someone. "What the-?"
She looked up to see ice-blue eyes, crystal clear, peering down into hers. She took a step back to find that she had run into a tall man in his mid-to-late twenties, tall and richly dressed. Dark brown-black hair glistened in the sunlight, just a few strands falling into his eyes. It didn't take long for Audrie to realize he was quite rich, and obviously important.
"Hello, there, and who might you be?" His voice seemed to be like melted chocolate, luxuriously smooth and deep.
"Audrelinia of Seren. And you?" She knew she couldn't curtsey until he had introduced his title, so that she could curtsey in the proper way to address his title. What she didn't know what how to curtsey in general.
" Duke Roger of Conte." He bowed deeply. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
Knowing he was obviously important, she murmured sweetly, "The pleasure is all mine, my lord," And swept as low a curtsey as she could manage.
Apparently it wasn't low enough, judging from the look on his face at the moment her curtsey went to its lowest, but she wobbled slightly, and knew that if she attempted anything more she would fall over. In a gentleman-like way he supported her arm as she rose again, and she noticed a strange tingling feeling on her skin where he touched it.
"It's an honor to meet you, my lord," She moved her arm away from his once she was standing, and felt the sudden urge to replace the word 'lord' in all of her sentences with 'lard', but refrained.
"May I ask what you were doing in the healer's room?" he inquired.
"I...tripped on some water. I had sprained my ankle and went to the healer's. Nothing serious, I assure you."
He smiled at her faintly, and she had begun to smile back when she suddenly glared at him; now she knew why her skin had tingled when he touched her.
"I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't attempt to read my mind. I find it quite disturbing when I know someone can read my thoughts. They're not really any of your business."
She walked past him, jarring him by slamming her shoulder against him, partly to be rude and partly to make sure the spell he had tried to cast on her to read all of her secrets was broken. Only after she was long out of hearing distance did she begin to mutter about him, but gave a evil grin as she held a wad of cloth in her hands; she'd teach Roger of Conte to leave her alone.
Author's Notes: This is just my luck: I get nine reviews on the first day and none after that. I want ten, people, ten! Ten reviews means that people bother to read my fic, ten means that you actually like it (unless, of course, you don't). I'm begging you all, vote on which fic I should write next, tell me you think my fic is cruddy, or great, or whatever, just review! I live on reviews and popcorn, if you deprive me, I'll starve! Anyways, for those of you who did review and vote for my next fic (reviewer, Anastazi Silverwind, Rasphody07, and Keita), I decided that my own mind is too morbid for my own good, and took off the Roger and Alex fic. It was temporary insanity, please forgive me. Anyways, vote, vote, vote! ~ ~ ~ ~
Audrie left her room to go to the healer's only after twenty minutes of harassment from Sarri to do so. Sarri had even offered to help her walk there, but Audrie would die before she accepted help in a task so benign as walking down the hall. By the time she _had_ walked down the hall, however, she may have been willing to accept the help. The pain in her ankle seemed to spread to her entire leg, making it feel as though flames licked at one side of her body.
At last she managed to enter the healer's room, where she saw a small old man sitting behind a desk, nose buried in a thick volume, with several beds with crisp, white blankets next to him. Audrie stood stock still, not knowing how to explain why she was there. 'I fell off a roof,' was most certainly self-explanatory, but she knew he would ask how she had gotten onto the roof, and why.
As thoughts and excuses rushed through her mind, the old man had noticed her and risen from his chair to greet her. " Good afternoon, my lady. What brings you here?" his bright eyes behind thick eyeglasses had caught hers, and after a moment's hesitance she decided to go with half- truths and avoidances.
"A sprained ankle." No need to explain more than that, she thought. Besides, isn't that what he asked?
For some reason the instant she said her reason the old man snorted. "Women." he grunted, "Can't endure pain for a second, can you? Pathetic." Audrie was tempted to walk up to him and smack him, and only logic that if she did that he wouldn't heal her kept her back.
"No matter," he pointed to one of the beds, " Sit there while I heal, and no resisting."
She plopped down on the bed he had indicated to, lifting her skirts to above the ankle so that he could heal it. Kneeling on the ground, the old man placed two hands on her ankle, and soft magenta light emanating from his fingertips. After a moment the light faded suddenly, and then man looked up to her, brows furrowed. "This is more than a sprained ankle. The bone in your ankle is cracked. You're lucky it didn't break entirely. You didn't just trip while walking to get this injury. What happened?"
A moments hesitation held as though it were a lifetime, before Audrie finally replied, "I tripped while practicing dancing." It's not that much of a lie, she thought. After all, I did trip. Just not while dancing.
The reply from the old man was a look that clearly said he didn't believe her whatsoever. "Mm-hmm," He nodded before going back to work on healing her ankle. "and here I thought that the convent was to teach women not to nearly kill themselves dancing. Silly me."
Audrie glared at him."It wasn't my fault, there was water on the floor. I tripped." The pain faded with the light from the old man's hands, and it soon felt as though the injury was only a distant memory. She stood up abruptly, and began to briskly walk out of the room as the man rose to a standing.
" Funny thing I saw earlier," he commented, just as Audrie was about to leave, causing her to freeze in her footsteps. "Could've sworn I'd seen a person jump off of the fourth floor roof."
"O-oh really?" she stuttered, "And w-why are you mentioning this to me?"
"Oh, I don't know." he shrugged his shoulders. "Not too safe to go jumping of roofs, is it? Could get hurt. Now go on, and be more careful dancing around wet floors. I can't go healing you every instant of the day."
She took this as a dismissal, practically running out the door. She hadn't gone too far when she slammed into someone. "What the-?"
She looked up to see ice-blue eyes, crystal clear, peering down into hers. She took a step back to find that she had run into a tall man in his mid-to-late twenties, tall and richly dressed. Dark brown-black hair glistened in the sunlight, just a few strands falling into his eyes. It didn't take long for Audrie to realize he was quite rich, and obviously important.
"Hello, there, and who might you be?" His voice seemed to be like melted chocolate, luxuriously smooth and deep.
"Audrelinia of Seren. And you?" She knew she couldn't curtsey until he had introduced his title, so that she could curtsey in the proper way to address his title. What she didn't know what how to curtsey in general.
" Duke Roger of Conte." He bowed deeply. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
Knowing he was obviously important, she murmured sweetly, "The pleasure is all mine, my lord," And swept as low a curtsey as she could manage.
Apparently it wasn't low enough, judging from the look on his face at the moment her curtsey went to its lowest, but she wobbled slightly, and knew that if she attempted anything more she would fall over. In a gentleman-like way he supported her arm as she rose again, and she noticed a strange tingling feeling on her skin where he touched it.
"It's an honor to meet you, my lord," She moved her arm away from his once she was standing, and felt the sudden urge to replace the word 'lord' in all of her sentences with 'lard', but refrained.
"May I ask what you were doing in the healer's room?" he inquired.
"I...tripped on some water. I had sprained my ankle and went to the healer's. Nothing serious, I assure you."
He smiled at her faintly, and she had begun to smile back when she suddenly glared at him; now she knew why her skin had tingled when he touched her.
"I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't attempt to read my mind. I find it quite disturbing when I know someone can read my thoughts. They're not really any of your business."
She walked past him, jarring him by slamming her shoulder against him, partly to be rude and partly to make sure the spell he had tried to cast on her to read all of her secrets was broken. Only after she was long out of hearing distance did she begin to mutter about him, but gave a evil grin as she held a wad of cloth in her hands; she'd teach Roger of Conte to leave her alone.